We are always trying to come up interesting and delicious in equal measure when it comes to food around leicester.
Fosse park shopping centre is an obvious draw, the idea there’s plenty of parking and some choice except, the big chains we don’t really rate, Zizzi’s and Nando’s may be popular with lots of people but the couple of times I’ve been the food was shocking and the service worse, young kids serving with little or no experience.
Stuck for an idea for an early dinner we decided to give the Volpo Lounge another go. I haven’t been for a while to be fair put off by a couple of bad meals and there is a lot to like about this chain. It’s a hippy serve yourself vibe which I don’t mind although the people I went with would have preferred waiter service, when you decide you fancy something else you have to get up and go back to the bar to order something else or get another drink.
They have a self service water station and dog bowls and dog treats for your pouch. As a dog owner I like a dog friendly place.
There’s a full bar and they do offer freshly squeezed juice which is unusual for Leicester.
The menu and the food does seem to have gone even further down hill. My friends struggled to find something to eat. One ordered a couple of the tapas, the prawns and something else she didn’t rate, the other a flatbread with hummus and falafel, I had the veggie beyond meat burger, and my other friend had the Buddha grain bowl with aubergines, Persian grains and tender stem broccoli.
There is a lot of choice on the menu so it should have been easy to find something that appeals and there are quite a few vegetarian and vegan choices, something else that in the past has set this place apart.
Sadly all four of us, all ordering something different were unhappy with the food and at between £12 and £16 a plate for main courses we won’t be rushing back.
We obviously aren’t alone as on a Thursday night and a holiday weekend a place that is normally standing room only was pretty dead. It’s a large space so with only a few tables occupied and extremely loud music which also made it difficult to hear ourselves.
And the wine we ordered was undrinkable, very acidic so all in all not the best experience at the Volpo Lounge.
Not sure if it’s the strains on the hospitality sector, minimum wage increases or increased food costs that have caused this place to slip, a few years ago when it first opened I was in here a couple of times a month. Sadly it’s no longer the same energetic well run restaurant serving really great food and wine.
There used to be a cafe slash restaurant in the department store high end clothes shop Flannels but that’s closed and the couple of times I’ve been to Everards across the road it was more beer tours and bus trips than decent food and wine.
The one thing Fosse Park really needs is a decent independent restaurant where you can grab a cocktail and a nice lunch or dinner.
If you are going to shop I’d recommend you find somewhere else to eat.